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JOHANNESBURG (AP) – Rebels fought the Mozambican army on Sunday for the fifth day in a row for control of the strategic northern city of Palma, as reports that dozens of civilians were killed and bodies littered the streets. streets. The fate of dozens of foreign energy workers was also unknown.
Some of the dead had been beheaded, according to Human Rights Watch. An attempt by expatriate workers to flee to safety came under heavy fire, killing many, according to local reports.
The Battle of Palma highlights the military and humanitarian crisis in this southern African country in the Indian Ocean. The three-year uprising by rebels, who are mostly disgruntled young Muslim men, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado has left more than 2,600 dead and displaced around 670,000 people, according to the UN.
The attacks in Palma began on Wednesday just hours after French energy company Total announced it would resume work outside the city on its massive natural gas project in Afungi, near the northeastern border of the Mozambique with Tanzania. Previous rebel attacks prompted Total in January to halt work on the offshore gas extraction project.
The Mozambican army fought rebels in several places to regain control of Palma, Colonel Omar Saranga, spokesman for the defense ministry, said on Sunday in the capital of Maputo.
Hundreds of residents of Palma, both local and foreign, have been rescued, he said, adding that the defense forces are fighting “to contain the criminal attacks by terrorists and restore normalcy to Palma”.
Most communications in recent days with Palma and its surroundings have been cut off by insurgents, although some residents have received messages using satellite phones.
“(They said) that they had seen bodies lying in the streets, that the sound of gunfire continued. In fact, gunshots were recorded in the background as we spoke with them. And they told us they were running for safety, ”Zenaida Machado, Human Rights Watch representative in Mozambique, told The Associated Press.
Many residents of Palma ran into the dense rainforest surrounding the city to escape the violence. But a few hundred foreign workers from South Africa, Britain and France gathered in hotels that quickly became targets of rebel attacks.
About 200 Mozambicans and foreign workers were accommodated at the Amarula hotel. On Friday, a group of them in 17 vehicles drove to the beach, where they hoped to be rescued, but the convoy came under heavy fire. Only 7 vehicles reached the beach, according to local reports and messages sent by survivors.
Seven people in the convoy were killed, the military spokesman confirmed on Sunday.
The beach remained under insurgent fire, preventing air or sea rescue efforts, according to reports. The Amarula hotel remained under attack and it is not known what happened to those of the 10 vehicles that did not reach the coast.
A ship that left Palma earlier carrying hundreds of people arrived in Pemba, the provincial capital about 160 km to the south, on Sunday.
The new rebel violence calls into question the fate of Total’s gas project, one of Africa’s largest private investments. Total paid nearly $ 4 billion for a 26.5% stake in the project in 2019. It had planned to start gas shipments in 2024, but the deteriorating security situation made that target unlikely. .
Total issued a statement on Saturday saying that due to the latest rebel attack, it had “clearly” suspended all of its operations on the Afungi Peninsula. He said none of his staff at the Afungi site fell victim to the attack.
“Total expresses its sympathy and support for the people of Palma, the relatives of the victims and those affected by the tragic events of recent days,” the statement said. “Total trusts the government of Mozambique whose public security forces are currently working to regain control of the area.”
Mozambique rebels already hold the port city of Mocimboa da Praia, 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Palma, which they captured in August.
Mozambique’s insurgents are known locally as al-Shabab, although they have no known ties to the Somali jihadist rebels of that name. Rebels have been active in Cabo Delgado province since 2017, but their attacks have become much more frequent and deadly over the past year.
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AP reporter Tom Bowker in Uzès, France, contributed.
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This story has been corrected to show that the convoy of 17 vehicles left the Amarula Hotel on Friday, not Saturday.
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